Justin Bieber
Taken from Justin Bieber wiki Justin Bieber (pronounced /ˈbiːbər/, BEE-bər; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian pop/R&B singer. His performances on YouTube were seen by Scooter Braun, who later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was soon signed to a joint venture between Braun and Usher and then with L.A. Reid and Island Def Jam. His debut single, One Time, was released worldwide during 2009, and charted within the top thirty in over ten countries. It was followed by his debut release, My World on November 17, 2009, which was certified platinum in the United States, which at the time gave Bieber the highest debut by a new artist in the year, and made Bieber the first artist to have seven songs from a debut album chart on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. His first full studio release, My World 2.0 ''was released on March 23, 2010, debuting at number one and within the top ten of several countries. It was preceded by the international hit song, ''Baby. Early Life Bieber was born on March 1, 1994, in London, Ontario in St Joseph's Hospital,[15][16] and was raised in Stratford, Ontario.[17] Bieber's mother, Patricia "Pattie" Mallette, was 18 years old when she became pregnant. Mallette, originally from Stratford, raised her son with the help of her parents, Bruce and Diane.[18] Mallette worked a series of low-paying office jobs, raising Bieber as a single mother in low-income housing. Bieber has maintained contact with his father, Jeremy Jack Bieber, who married another woman and had two children.[19][20][21] Bieber's paternal great-grandfather was from Germany.[22] Bieber's mother's ancestry is French Canadian.[23] Bieber attended a French immersion elementary sch ool in Stratford called Jeanne Sauvé Catholic School.[18] During his childhood, Bieber was interested in hockey, soccer, and chess; he often kept his musical aspirations to himself.[19] As he grew up, Bieber taught himself to play the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet.[17][24] In early 2007, when he was twelve, Bieber sang Ne-Yo's "So Sick" for a local singing competition in Stratford and was placed second.[25][24] Mallette posted a video of the performance on YouTube for their family and friends to see. She continued to upload videos of Bieber singing covers of various R&B songs, and Bieber's popularity on the site grew.[11] Chris Hicks, Bieber's A&R at Island/Def Jam, explained the young artist's huge online following toHitQuarters by saying: "He was doing something different. He was an attractive white kid singing very soulful R&B hits. That set him apart immediately from anyone in his range because no one was covering or singing these kind of records. But equally important was that you believed in these songs – it was real. And you wanted to hear more."[26] Career Bieber's first single, One Time, featured guest vocals from Usher and was released to radio while Bieber was still recording his debut album. The song reached number 12 on the Canadian Hot 100 during its first week of release in July 2009, and later peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. During fall 2009 it had success in international markets. The song was certified Platinum in Canada and the U.S. and Gold in the Australia and New Zealand. Bieber's first album My World, was released on November 17, 2009. Three consecutive singles, One Less Lonely Girl, Love Me, and Favorite Girl, were released exclusively on the iTunes store and charted within the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100. The previous was also released to radio and peaked within the top fifteen in the Canada and the U.S., being certified Gold in the latter. My World was eventually certified Platinum in the U.S. and Canada and Silver in the UK. To promote the album, Bieber performed in several live shows such as mtvU's VMA 09 Tour, European program The Dome, YTV's The Next Star and The Today Show, The Wendy Williams Show,Lopez Tonight, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, It's On with Alexa Chung, Good Morning America, Chelsea Lately, and BET's 106 & Park with Rihanna. Bieber also guest starred in an episode of True Jackson, VP in late 2009. Bieber performed Stevie Wonder's Someday At Christmas for U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House for Christmas in Washington, which was broadcast on December 20, 2009 on USA television broadcaster TNT. Bieber was also one of the performers at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest on December 31. Bieber was a presenter at the 52nd Grammy Awards on January 31, 2010. He was invited to be a vocalist for the remake of We Are The World for its 25th anniversary to benefit Haiti after the earthquake. Bieber sings the opening line, which was sung by Lionel Richie in the original version. On March 12, 2010, a version of K'naan's Wavin' Flag recorded by a collective of Canadian musicians known as Young Artists for Haiti was released. Bieber is featured in the song, performing the closing lines. Baby, the lead single from the second half of his debut album, which features Ludacris, was released in January 2010 and became his biggest hit thus far, charting at number five in the U.S. and reaching the top ten in seven other countries. Two digital singles, Never Let You Go, and U Smile were top thirty hits on the U.S. Hot 100, and top twenty hits in Canada. According to review aggregator Metacritic, the album has received "generally favorable reviews". It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200, making Bieber the youngest solo male act to top the chart since Stevie Wonder in 1963. My World 2.0 also debuted at number one on the Canadian Albums Chart and Irish Albums Chart and reached the top ten of fifteen other countries. To promote the album, Bieber appeared on several live programs including The View, the 2010 Kids Choice Awards, Nightline, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Dome and 106 and Park. On April 10, 2010, Bieber was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Bieber's voice is now deeper than it was when he recorded his albums because of puberty. The singer discussing his vocals remarked, "It cracks. Like every teenage boy, I'm dealing with it and I have the best vocal coach in the world. ... Some of the notes I hit on Baby I can't hit anymore. We have to lower the key when I sing live." Image According to Jan Hoffman of The New York Times, part of Bieber's appeal stems from his YouTube channel. In contrast to singers whose careers were launched by high profile franchises like American Idol or the Disney Channel, "Justin, his fans passionately believe, is homemade. Long before he released his EP, My World, in mid-November, the YouTube videos attracted millions of views." Braun recognized the appeal. Prior to flying him to Atlanta, Braun wanted to "build him up more on YouTube first" and had Bieber record more home videos for the channel. "I said: ‘Justin, sing like there’s no one in the room. But let’s not use expensive cameras.’ We’ll give it to kids, let them do the work, so that they feel like it’s theirs," recalled Braun. Bieber continues to upload videos to the same channel and has opened a Twitter account, from which he interacts with fans regularly. The accounts also serve marketing purposes; for example, Bieber's music video for One Time only began selling quickly after it was uploaded to YouTube. Usher comments that while he and Bieber were both signed at the same time, "I had the chance to ramp up my success, where this has happened to Bieber abruptly." As a result, Usher, Braun, Bieber's bodyguard, Kenny, and other adults surrounding Bieber constantly coach him on handling fame and his public image. After signing Bieber, Usher appointed one of his former assistants, Ryan Good, to be Bieber's road manager and stylist. Good, nicknamed Bieber's "swagger coach", helped develop Bieber's public image. Good created a "streetwise look" for the singer which consisted of baseball caps, hoodies, dog chains and flashy sneakers. Amy Kaufman of The Los Angeles Times comments, "Though a product of a middle-class suburban upbringing in Stratford, Ontario, Bieber's manner of dress and speech ("Wassup man, how you doin'?" or "It's like, you know, whateva' ") suggest he's mimicking his favorite rappers." Bieber is often featured in teen magazines such as Tiger Beat, and has been labeled a "teen hearthrob". In October 2009, Bieber was voted as the #5 "Best Good Example of 2009" in a poll run by AOL's JSYK. Crowd control problems Bieber's popularity has caused safety concerns. While promoting My World, Bieber was scheduled to appear at Long Island's Roosevelt Field Mall, but the performance had to be cancelled. Over 3,000 screaming fans showed up for the appearance. The event got out of control, and over 35 units from the Nassau County and Garden City police departments had to be called in. Several fans received minor injuries. The police arrested an Island Records senior vice-president, James A. Roppo, reportedly for hindering the police's crowd control efforts by not sending a timely message on Twitter as instructed by the police. James Roppo pleaded not guilty to all charges. On March 24, 2010 Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, was arrested on one count of second-degree reckless endangerment and one count of second-degree criminal nuisance related to the incident. Braun pleaded not guilty to both charges and was later released. On April 27, 2010, a scheduled promotional performance was cancelled by Australian police after several girls were injured in a crowd crush. Bieber was scheduled to sing three songs for the Channel Seven program, Sunrise. An estimated 4,000 pre-teen girls showed up at 3:00am and stormed past safety barricades. In addition to those injured, dozens were treated for hyperventilation. In a tweet, Bieber wrote, "I want to make this clear... I didn't cancel”. Bieber said in a Twitter message after the incident, “I woke up this morning to the police canceling the show for safety reasons". "I want everyone to still remember my fans' safety comes first. At the end of the day I want you all to enjoy the music.". Arriving at Auckland airport in New Zealand later that day, Bieber arrived to the screams now labelled "Bieber Fever". RadioLIVE New Zealand reported on airport security's efforts to keep Bieber out of trouble. He later tweeted that somebody stole his hat and "knocked down his mama." The teenage girl who stole the hat then uploaded a video to the Internet, outlining the demands of her extortion attempt. The next day, she returned the hat amid speculation of possible criminal charges. Discography Main article: Justin Bieber discography Albums *2009: My World *2010: My World 2.0 *''Under The Mistletoe'' *''Believe'' Tours *2009: Urban Behavior Tour *2010: My World Tour Opening act *2009: Fearless Tour (United Kingdom) Filmography Awards and nominations *Myx Music Awards :Favorite International Video – "One Time" *Juno Awards[44] :2010, Album of the Year, My World – Nominated :2010, Pop Album of the Year, My World – Nominated :2010, New Artist of the Year – Nominated *TRL Awards (Italy)[45] :2010, Best International Act – Nominated Personal Life From mid to late 2010, Bieber was rumoured to have been dating Baby video love interest Jasmine V after pictures were released of the two of them kissing in the backseat of a car; however, after that controversy calmed down, new rumours - that turned out to be true - of his relationship with Disney actress and singer Selena Gomez (whom some fans sent death threats and messages to online, mainly on the site Twitter) since around November 2010. In June 2011, both Bieber and Gomez confirmed they were dating and have been shown together, alone, holding hands or kissing in public. Criticism Many people believe that Justin Bieber's vocals are too high-pitched for his teen age, and have responded with rumours of him being female, homosexual or using vocal tool Auto-Tune. All these are false. Other criticisms are of his trademark long hair, with people saying it looks 'gay' or 'hideous;' the hairstyle has also been criticized due to its popularity among young lesbians. Some controversies also are from interviews, like an interview with ''Rolling Stone ''magazine, when asked about his views on abortion, rape and same-sex relationship - the latter which some people claim he was stating that it was a choice. When asked again about the same-sex issue, he said that he didn't claim it was a choice. Category:Males Category:1990s Births Category:Dark Haired Guys Category:Male Musicians